Which Mobile Data Plan to Get

Which Mobile Data Plan to Get
Whichever telco you're subscribing to, an often asked question is to what data plan to get, is 3GB enough, do I really need 30GB, and the like.









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Long Story
Let's do some quick calculations. I'll use the general data guideline found by using this data calculation site:
https://ben.cheetham.me.uk/resources/net/data-usage-calculator

In General, 1 email is about 25kb. Sometimes, if you open the attachments, they could be more. But assuming just text emails, and exaggerating the data a bit, let's take email to be 100kb each. And lets say you're a super heavy email user, sending and receiving 50 such emails a day.

50 emails/day = 1500 emails/month = 150mb of data

>>A heavy user with lots of attachments will have to judge based on his attachments. But it's going to be hard to use more than say, 500mb of data a month.

Now lets talk about surfing. According to the calculator, we use about 10mb of data on average for an hour of surfing. For a person who only surfs using his mobile phone, let's estimate usage to be 2 hours a day.

2hrs/day = 60hrs/month = 600mb of data

>>Still with me?

Ok it's not unusual for a mobile user to watch videos on youtube or other streaming videos. Here's where data starts to get a little heavy. The calculator estimates an hour of video to be about 100mb. Maybe I catch an hour of my favourite shows everyday, that takes:

1hr/day = 30hr/month = 3GB of data

>>What a jump from just surfing + emails!

How about for people like me who tether their mobile phones to their laptops, using them as modems? My laptop is online 8 hours a day, surfing, sending emails, downloading various things, and maybe watching some youtube videos. But of course, I'm not furiously clicking through sites for 8 hours. I have to do work too, and go for my lunch break. Let's take it as 3 hours a day.

3hrs surfing/day = 90hrs/month = 9GB of data
50 emails/day = 1500 emails/month = 150mb of data
1hr youtube/day = 30hr/month = 3GB of data
Total: About 10GB++

>>The hybrid nature of laptop data usage can really cause big differences. You'll really have to estimate for yourself how much you use.

Oh, how about gamers, people who don't have to work/live on the internet, or people who just sit around watching videos all day? Gaming is about 100mb an hour, similar to streaming videos.

8hrs surfing/day = 240hrs/month = 2.4GB of data

or

8hrs gaming/day = 240hrs/month = 24GB of data

or

8hrs video/day = 240hrs/month = 24GB of data

Hey that works out to close 30GB a month. Singtel hits the nail right on the head. Maybe a little too close for comfort.


Starhub and M1 provide unlimited data, which might be more comforting, but if you have read this guide and know your usage, you can better pick the plan that suits you.

Starhub:


M1:


These plans are as of today (12th June 2009) and are subject to change, and subject to offers during special periods.